China Steel Corp, Taiwan's largest steelmaker, yesterday raised prices for key steel products by NT$300 ($9.71) per tonne for domestic shipments next month, driven by improved domestic demand from transport manufacturers funds, as well as computer and server makers ramping up production due to a growing number of artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Domestic steel consumption is poised to bounce back from a fall as inventory adjustment comes to an end, the steel company said in a statement from Kaohsiung.
The outlook for the market is positive, supported by a NT$680 billion government infrastructure project that will further boost demand for steel, the company said.
“With the steel market in its early recovering, the company is moderately raising steel prices to reflect higher raw material costs and exchange rate fluctuations,” China Steel said.
According to China Steel, global prices for coking coal and iron ore have bottomed out and are ready to recover.
Iron ore bottomed out at $105 to $115/t, while coking coal recovered to $225-235/t, China Steel reported.
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After two months of price cuts, China Steel raised the price of hot-rolled plate, hot-rolled steel coil and cold-rolled steel plate by NT$300/ton.
It also raised the price of galvanized steel coil used in construction at NT$300/tonne, but left unchanged prices for galvanized steel coils used in household appliances and computers, as well as prices for electrical steel coils.
China Steel's price increase coincided with an increase the prices of his Chinese counterparts. Baowu Steel Group Ltd, the world's largest steel producer, and Angang Steel Co have raised prices for hot-rolled, cold-rolled and galvanized steel by 100 yuan ($14) per tonne for next month's shipments, signaling a further rise in global steel prices in second half of this year, China Steel said in a statement.
This was the first price increase for Baowu Steel and Angang Steel in four months.
